1999 Ford Windstar LX from North America - Comments

20th Mar 2004, 12:38

I own a 1999 Windstar SEL with over 100,000 miles on it. THIS IS THE LAST FORD I WILL EVER BUY. For the last 30,000 miles the "Check Engine" light has been on and the van runs rough between 30-50 mph. Error codes 0304 have continued to show up, despite a complete analysis of the cylinders, head, injector and anything else related to cylinder #4. At that point I had spent approximately $500 to have all the filters changed, gaskets replaced, and the power steering pump replaced. After being sent overseas, the Germans are having a great time of charging me for replacing the plug wires, O2 sensors, ERG valve, and other smaller items at a hourly rate of $125 / hour... the van has been in the shop for over 2 weeks now. Now they think the rough operation is due to transmission problems. Thank you Ford for "Building One Tough Lemon!"

24th Mar 2004, 13:40

I too, want to jump on the ANTI-1999 WINDSTAR BANDWAGON! We bought ours in 2001 with 30,000 miles, supposedly a great van. We have had nothing, but trouble. Unfortunately, it is now out of warranty and at 59,000 miles we now just got an estimate from the Ford Dealership of over $2600.00.!! We have an extended warranty, but it will only pay $400.00. It needs a power steering pump, an ECM module, a left valve cover and intake manifold gasket replacement (for which I know there is a TSB on), a transmission shift & bushings, and more! Oh yeah, the Check Engine Light has been on almost ever since we have had it. So much for getting a dependable car for me and my kids! I am very disgusted. We are contacting Ford directly!

5th Apr 2004, 11:34

1999 Ford Windstar NIGHTMARES... thank you to the previous comment creators, and I wish we had found one another SOONER, before I was in this position.

I've been dealing with the left-turn clunk noise for awhile now, and we have added a turning scrunch noise as of late... in a VERY bizarre twist of fate, I was discussing this with a business partner in another state who also owned a 1999 Windstar and lo and behold, we found identical tracks of troubles...

He stated that his Ford Dealer, though never declaring a "recall" let him know that an "improved part was available"... all creted with a Power Steering Fluid leak, which resulted in the Steering Rack needing to be replaced ~ ARGH!!!

I'm pursuing it all right now, and when this issue is solved, we're going for a trade-in, pronto.

9th Apr 2004, 06:30

Just purchased a 99 Ford Windstar LX model, 44,000 miles, of couse used, but with one owner, an older couple-no kids. We are already having trouble with interior light blinking on and off while driving at night.

When we checked under the hood the intake manifold is leaking and will have to be fixed.

Recall's were never attended to, so I will have to address them.

We live on a gravel and dirt road--we did not know this, but Dust comes through the air conditioner vents terribly. Face Masks that filter dirt are needed while driving on gravel roads. Just cleaned interior 1 day ago, now the whole interior is covered with dust and dirt. Not only the surfaces, but the entire inside- the little flip-down mirror, inside the interior light on the ceiling of the van. I am going to have to get an air compressor hose to blow the dust out- there is no way I can clean the air vents and little creavaces with my hands. How do I keep this dust and dirt out? You can't just see the dust coming through the vents, you can smell it and even taste it and chew it if you want to--you can eat all the grit you please. I have 5 children and a husband, that's why we bought a van. I had a Dodge Grand Caravan and it caused major problems with high mileage, but never poured dust inside to the interior.

CD player skips on gravel road. I have a CD player in my Mazda 626 (little car) and it doesn't skip.

I can wipe the dust off the radio front, and 5 seconds later the dust is back. I don't know what I am going to do! I have changed the filter under the hood that is inside the dash that is suposed to filter incoming air, buy it doesn't.

17th Apr 2004, 18:38

My 1999 Windstar is fast becoming a heap. 36,000 miles and it just blew a power steering rack. Just replaced the battery, it tested OK, but it kept dieing on us. 4 months ago, we had the manifold gasket leak problem. Same old problems as everyone else. What's next!!

21st Apr 2004, 10:26

Here's another 1999 Windstar dissatisfied customer. The dealer convinced us to spend $400 to have the check engine light repaired and the car has run poorly ever since. Now they want $2500 to replace the transmission because they "think" there might be problems with transmission, but they can't be sure until they get in there which will cost $2000 anyways so "you might as well just have it replaced". We took it to AAmco and they can't find anything wrong with the transmission and said that the Windstars are notorious for this problem. We have also had problems with the side door only opening sometimes. They want another $165 to fix that. No more Fords for us!

8th May 2004, 16:48

Bought a brand new 1999 Ford Windstar se., Transmission blew at 39,000. Since over the warranty they wouldn't cover it. I have bought three new cars from ford in the last 7years.. no more. I will never buy a Ford again.. They put a bad taste in my mouth.

19th Jul 2004, 11:14

I purchased a 99 windstar lx used with 78000 miles and already 3 1/2 weeks later I'm sitting along side the road. It seems that I have a transmission fluid loss and I am not sure where it's coming from? Is it the gasket between the trans/engine or is it a bad hose? After reading these comment's, I think I'm going to get it fix and sell it in the same day to avoid all the headaches and money everyone else on this site has experienced.

19th Aug 2004, 02:34

Here's very big headache customer. I'm still driving 1999 Windstar with 50,500 miles. I like Windstar because of comfortable and roomy, but I'm scared on what's next because I don't want my wife and 4 kids get stuck in the middle of highway. If I still have the warranty, it's still wasting our time, money and plan because of many trips I will have to make.

On August 2, 2004, the transmission gave a loud bang when I started to give gas at the intersection and the van was stopped in the middle of heavy traffic intersection with engine idling. After waiting to hear Ford Service about what's wrong with it, he found the problem. It was the one-piece gear with metal cover around snapped into 2 pieces. I asked him why and he said that it had to do with wear/tear like stop/go traffic. I can't imagine why Ford Service didn't call Ford Headquarter and explain about the part. I was thinking that the quality is really bad which means most parts will go defective some days. Anyway, I called Ford Customer Relation office and complained about it. She said that the warranty has expired in 2002 in which I knew that. I told her that if I have 5 year/60,000 mile warranty, it will expire anyway because I bought the van in May 1999. All of sudden, she said that there is 7 year/100,000 mile warranty, but when was it first introduced? I don't recall that Ford Dealer offered that kind of warranty back in 1999. Does anyone have 7 year/100,000 mile warranty on Windstar? If so, when did you get?

Also, I called again and asked for reimbursement on transmission, but he rejected. So, if every Windstar has transmission problem like I am seeing in the comments, why can't Ford do something about it? What should I do? Is getting a lawyer worth it? I really need your help. I think I'm seeing the Ford market is going up, isn't it? Maybe I'm wrong.

One funny thing I think no one has mentioned is the speakers. The 1999 Windstar has 4 speakers: 2 front and 2 on the sliding doors. Every time, my 2 of 4 kids had to ask me to turn the volume up while they were sitting in third row. My other 2 kids were sitting in second row. It was pretty loud. I still don't understand why they can't put 2 more speakers in the back.